Slagle Financial LLC Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Slagle Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,146 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.8% of Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MO opened at $58.15 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.08 and a 52-week high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.87.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.